National

Obama Team To Make Important, If Symbolic, Choice On Gay Marriage

7:09pm February 08, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

By the end of this month, the federal government is expected to file briefs in a pair of same-sex marriage cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. One case poses questions so difficult that the president himself is expected to make the final decision on what arguments the Justice Department will make.

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National

Some In Northeast Turn Down Chance To Sell Sandy-Damaged Homes

7:09pm February 08, 2013

by Joel Rose

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to spend up to $400 million to buy and demolish homes that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Some homeowners are eager to sell. But others plan to rebuild at the beach, no matter what the state wants.

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National

Historic Blizzard Freezes Transit In Northeast U.S.

7:09pm February 08, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

The blizzard that is battering the Northeast has disrupted transit throughout the region and beyond. Thousands of flights have been canceled. Amtrak and commuter trains have stopped running in many places, and people are trying to find a safe place to wait out the storm.

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National

Former LAPD Officer Accused Of Killing Three People Spent Time In The Navy

7:09pm February 08, 2013

Police in southern California are still searching for Christopher Dorner, the fired Los Angeles police officer who is wanted for three murders and other shootings since the weekend. Robert Siegel speaks with Joel Rubin, who has been covering the story for The Los Angeles Times.

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Bonnie Brown with her daughter, Myra, 15. Despite Bonnie's disability, Myra says her mom is everything she needs from a parent.

A Life Defined Not By Disability, But Love

12:28pm February 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

When she was younger, Myra didn't realize her mom, Bonnie Brown, was "different" than most. Her mother's intellectual disability was only something she realized later when her mother told her, "I know I am not like your friends' mothers, but I'm doing the best I can."

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Tourists take photographs in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 2, the day after Congress passed a bill to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Even Without Earmarks, Tax Breaks And Special Deals Fill Bills

12:28pm February 08, 2013

by Peter Overby

Congress likes to say it doesn't do earmarks anymore. And while that may be true, it's also a fact that targeted provisions are still useful in moving legislation — even critical legislation like the bill that pulled Washington back from the fiscal cliff last month.

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The Garment District's factories and wholesale and retail shops, including Spandex World on West 38th Street, employ about 7,100 people.

New York's Grimy Garment District Hatches Designers' Dreams

8:07pm February 07, 2013

by Padmananda Rama

As Fashion Week opens in New York on Thursday, all eyes will be on the Lincoln Center catwalk. But the real business of fashion will be happening a short distance away in the city's Garment District, the resource-rich laboratory that has launched the careers of countless designers.

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Blocking Iran With A Global Game Of Nuclear 'Keep Away'

7:27pm February 07, 2013

by NPR Staff

Obtaining the materials to make weapons-grade uranium or separated plutonium is harder than making a nuclear weapon, experts say. That's why the U.S. is engaged in a global effort to try to keep the specialized products out of hands it deems dangerous, like Iran.

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Brennan Objects To Use Of Waterboarding In CIA Confirmation Hearing

5:28pm February 07, 2013

President Obama's nominee to run the CIA has his confirmation hearing Thursday afternoon. The hearing of White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan comes as lawmakers are studying a memo on drone strikes overseas. Robert Siegel talks to Tom Gjelten.

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Home Care Aides Await Decision On New Labor Rules

4:11pm February 07, 2013

by NPR Staff

The industry has changed rapidly, but amendments exempting the workers from minimum wage and overtime pay have not. The Obama administration has yet to formally approve new rules, though the president has come out in favor of them.

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